Nasal and sinus disease and sinus related syndromes and symptoms are a common clinical problem with considerable patient morbidity, substantial direct costs, and a significant, negative impact on the quality of life for those who are afflicted. The four primary categories of afflicted groups are: 1) individuals with acute and chronic rhinosinusitis; 2) individuals with acute upper respiratory infections, 3) individuals who suffer from allergic rhinitis; and 4) individuals with chronic snoring problems. These four categories amount to millions of people who suffer from nasal congestion on a daily basis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the number of cases of chronic rhinosinusitis in the United States to be 35 million in 1994, a prevalence of about 13.5%, or about 40.5 million Americans adjusted for 2007 population figures (estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 1994. Vital Health Stat 10. 1995:261-520.) Rhinosinusitis was the fifth most common diagnosis for which antibiotics were prescribed from 1985 to 1992 (McCaig L F, Hughes J M. Trends in antimicrobial drug prescribing among office-based physicians in the United States. JAMA. 1995; 273:214-219). In 1996 rhinitis accounted for approximately 26.7 million office and emergency department visits resulting in $5.8 billion in direct costs (Ray N F, Baraniuk J N, Thamer M, et al. Healthcare expenditures for sinusitis in 1996: contributions of asthma, rhinitis, and other airway disorders. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1999; 103:408-414).
Allergic rhinitis has been reported to affect approximately 17% of the general population in the United States (Ray N F, Baraniuk J N, Thamer M, et al. Healthcare expenditures for sinusitis in 1996: contributions of asthma, rhinitis, and other airway disorders. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1999; 103:408-414), and in selected pediatric populations might be present in up to 42% (Wright A L, Holberg C J, Martinez F D, Halonen M, Morgan W, Taussig L M. Epidemiology of physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis in childhood. Pediatrics 1994; 94:895-901). This amounts to an upper estimate of 60 million Americans.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, snoring currently affects approximately 90 million American adults, 37 million on a regular basis.
The combined number of those who suffer from rhinosinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and snoring amounts to a high estimate of 190 million Americans and a low estimate of 128 million Americans, not accounting for double-counting individuals who may be in two or more categories. Adopting the conservative assumption of over 40% duplication yields an estimate of 75 million Americans who suffer from adverse sinus symptoms and would benefit from an effective therapy to relieve those symptoms.
Bathing the nasal and sinus cavities with lightly-salted water to wash away encrusted mucous, irritants, and foreign particles for the purpose of improving airflow and relieving nasal congestion has been widely practiced across many cultures for literally thousands of years. More recently, and particularly since about 1990, a significant number of peer-reviewed clinical trials have been undertaken at leading American and European medical schools and research centers testing whether the anecdotal claims of relief from the symptoms of nasal maladies as a result of nasal irrigation, are well founded and pass scientific scrutiny. (Harvey R, Hannan S A, Badia L, Scadding G. Nasal saline irrigations for the symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 3. Art No.: CD006394. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006394.pub2.)
Several clinical studies demonstrate that regular use of nasal irrigation is an effective therapy to relieve the symptoms of chronic and acute rhinosinusitis, including statistically significant findings of reduced nasal congestion, increased nasal passage airflow, reduced doctor visits, reduced number of prescriptions for sinus medicine, and improved quality of life. (Rabago D, Zgierska A, Mundt M, et al. Efficacy of daily hypertonic saline nasal irrigation among patients with sinusitis: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Family Practice. 2002; 51(12):1049-1055.) Other clinical studies indicate that regular nasal irrigation is a beneficial therapy for the treatment of allergy-related nasal symptoms. (Garavello W, Romagnoli M, Sordo L, et al. Hypersaline nasal irrigation in children with symptomatic seasonal allergic rhinitis: a randomized study. Pediatric allergy and immunology. 2003; 14:140-143.) Other as yet unpublished clinical studies are currently underway, testing whether nasal irrigation is an effective preventive therapy with respect to the common cold and snoring.
These studies indicate that nasal irrigation is a clinically proven method for treating the symptoms of sinus-related disease by exposing the nasal cavity to a streaming volume of saline. While the exact mechanism by which nasal irrigation's effectiveness is achieved is not yet well understood by the medical and scientific research community, it is likely multifaceted and includes a number of physiological effects which individually or in concert may result in an improved ability of the nasal mucosa to reduce the pathologic effects of inflammatory mediators and other triggers of allergic rhinitis, asthma and other chronic mucosal reactions, as follows. First, it rinses the entire interior of the nasal cavity, washing away encrustations that may be blocking the multiple ostia that connect the sinus cavities to the nasal cavity, thereby allowing the sinus cavities to properly drain into the nasal cavity and making the sinus cavities a much less attractive breeding ground for the colonization of bacteria. Second, it decreases the viscosity of the mucous in the nasal cavity, thereby greatly reducing the formation of interior encrustations. Third, it leaves a small residue of saline on the interior surfaces of the nasal cavity, including the openings to the sinus cavities and sometimes in the sinus cavities themselves. This is beneficial because saline has an inherently antiseptic quality that hinders the growth of bacteria. Fourth, exposure of the turbinates, vascular tissue that warms and humidifies the air inspired through the nose before it reaches the lungs, to saline causes them to reduce in size, thereby reducing nasal congestion. Fifth, it improves mucociliary clearance as a result of increased ciliary beat frequency, which improves the ability of the mucosa to perform its natural, flushing function. Sixth, the saline may wash away airborne bacteria, viral particles, irritants and other foreign particles that cause infections and allergies. (See: Ponikau J U, Sherris D A, Kephart D M, et al. Striking deposition of toxic eosinophilic major basic protein in mucus: Implications for chronic rhinosinusitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2005; 116(2):362-369; Ozsoylu S. Nose drops and the common cold. Eur. J Pediatr. 1985; 144:294; Karadag A. Nasal saline for acute sinusitis. Pediatrics. 2002; 109:165; Kurtaran H, Karadag A, Catal F, et al. A reappraisal of nasal saline solution use in chronic sinusitis. Chest. 2003; 124:2036-2037; Georgitis J W. Nasal hyperthermia and simple irrigation for perennial rhinitis. Changes in inflammatory mediators. Chest. 1994; 106:1487-1492; Talbot A R, Herr T M, Parsons D S. Mucocilliary clearance and buffered hypertonic saline solution. Laryngoscope. 1997; 107:500-503; Boek W M, Graamans K, Natzijl H, et al. Nasal mucociliary transport: New evidence for a key role of ciliary beat frequency. Laryngoscope. 2002; 112:570-573.)
There are three methods by which the nasal cavity can be irrigated: gravity, pressure, and suction.
Gravity-based devices allow the flow of saline into the nasal cavity by, for example, inserting the tip of a teapot-like spout into one nostril and pouring the saline into it. The saline then flows around the posterior margin of the nasal septum and out the other nostril of the user. An example of a gravity-based device is the neti pot. However, the awkward physical position required to accomplish such a rinse is difficult for many people, and the free flowing effluent from the nasal passageway is messy so that substantial clean up procedures are necessary.
Pressure-based devices pump the saline into the nasal cavity, again, by introducing the saline into one nostril, forcing it under pressure around the posterior margin of the nasal septum, and allowing it to drain out the other nostril. This can be done, for example, by placing the nozzle of a saline-filled, flexible plastic tube or bottle into one nostril and squeezing it, thereby injecting the saline into one nostril, through the nasal cavity, and out the other nostril. Although this avoids some of the physical awkwardness needed to achieve a gravity forced flow, the problems of messiness and the attendant inconvenience of cleaning remain. In addition, the varied pressures imparted by a squeeze tube can impart undesired, painful, and even harmful pressures throughout the nasal passageway, and particularly on the Eustachian tube ostia. Thus, this requires some acquired skill for proper use.
Prior devices have generally not utilized suction. The most common method by which suction is used to perform nasal irrigation is as simple as the user cupping a small amount of lightly salted water in his palm and sniffing it into his nostrils.
There is presently no practical device that offers a user the ability to practice nasal irrigation using all three delivery methods in a single device.
There is presently no practical device that offers a user the ability to practice nasal irrigation in a combination of either gravity and pressure, gravity and suction, or pressure and suction in a single device, nor is there a device that offers a powered mechanism in any of the three foregoing combinations.
There is presently no practical device that offers a user the ability to practice nasal irrigation using suction alone.
There is a need for a convenient hand-held device that can safely irrigate the nasal cavity with a controlled, gentle supply, draw the irrigant through the nasal cavity under the influence of gentle powered suction, collect the effluent safely in a manner facilitating quick and easy disposal, and is readily adaptable to a wide variety of nasal dimensions.